A. Field of the Invention
The field of the present invention relates generally to hand exercisers. In particular, the present invention relates to manually-operated hand exercisers that are specially structured and arranged to develop and strengthen the user's fingers and thumb and to improve the user's finger and thumb dexterity. Even more particularly, the present invention relates to such hand exercisers that have one or more platforms and a compression resistance member material.
B. Background
Over the years, a multitude of hand exercisers have been provided to develop specific muscle groups within the hand of the user. These muscles groups are responsible for a wide range of hand movements that accomplish common everyday tasks and have been generally identified as finger-strength, grip-strength, wrist-strength, extension-strength and finger-hand dexterity. While individual hand exercisers typically focus on developing the specific muscle group the particular hand exerciser was designed to improve, very few hand exercisers are able to develop muscles that are outside the primary muscle group for which the exerciser was designed, leaving a need for a hand exerciser that can easily cross-train between the five muscle groups set forth above.
Many people utilize hand exercisers to improve their hand strength and to generally promote healthy strong hands, which can be crucial in a wide range of sport activities, including baseball, football, mixed martial arts, tennis, golf and the like. Presently, to fully develop all of the hand muscle groups requires the user to utilize multiple hand exercisers. As can be readily appreciated by persons skilled in the art, a hand exerciser that easily crosses between the rehabilitation, therapy and fitness fields can save the user time and money. In addition to sports and related activities, learning to play any musical instrument requires a level of development and strengthening from the fingers and thumb. A hand exerciser that continues this development and strengthening by targeting the down-time between practice on an instrument would be very beneficial.
In general, maintaining a well balance development between muscle groups of the hand can promote a life with healthy strong hands that can help avoid a growing number of hand problems that result from repetitive muscle movements. A person can develop their finger-strength by utilizing a prior art hand exerciser such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,147,256 to Silagy. This hand exerciser makes use of individual springy resistant buttons to isolate and exercise the user's fingers. This type of hand exerciser has been made in many different versions that generally use the same basic principles. However, if a person wants to develop his or her finger-hand dexterity with the same device, it would be ineffective due to the lack of smooth circular surfaces for the fingers and hand to freely develop these specific muscles groups. A person desiring to develop grip-strength may utilize a hand exerciser such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,121,983 to Trent, which is configured to strengthen the muscles that close the hand. This exerciser has a plurality of holes that the user's fingers extend through to adjust the hand gripping position as well as the resistance. But if a person desires to develop his or her finger-strength with this device, it would be difficult for the user's fingers to balance between the holes in a manner that allows him or her to gather enough resistance for the muscles of each finger to be developed.
Many jobs require a person to exert near-continuous compression and tension within the hand muscles, so much so that the muscles that open the hand may not get enough counter-balance exercise and, a result, these muscles can become somewhat weak. To prevent this from happening, a person can utilize a hand exerciser such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,740,561 to Kupferman to develop his or her extension-strength. This hand exerciser provides different levels of tension to prevent the fingers and thumb from opening. However, when attempting to develop wrist-strength with the same device, the lack of any opposite resistance makes improving this muscle group of the user's hand substantially unachievable. A person wanting to develop wrist-strength can utilize a hand exerciser such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,308,299 to Winston. This hand exerciser has a main resistance mechanism comprising a thick metal spring that offers the desired resistance and, as such, develops the muscle groups that affect the users' wrist strength. This type of hand exerciser has been around for many years and are available in a variety of resistance levels. However, if the user of the device desires to develop his or her grip-strength with the same device, the bulkiness of the handles generally make the device inadequate to develop these muscle groups.
For hundreds of years the Chinese people have used an assortment of Baoding Balls to develop finger-hand dexterity. A person would rotate them in the palm of the hand while using the fingers to direct the motion and speed of the balls. But if developing extension-strength with the same device, a person would find it to be impossible based on the lack of resistance needed to keep the fingers from opening from the palm of the hand.
Prior art hand exercisers are inherently incapable of cross-training from one muscle group to another in most situations. This leaves the option to choose between purchasing several different hand exercisers to develop specific muscle groups or sacrifice the development of certain muscle groups within the hand. Heretofore, no prior art hand exerciser has been able to fulfill the need for a hand exerciser that can easily cross-training between all muscle groups of the hand, including finger-strength, grip-strength, wrist-strength, extension-strength and finger-hand dexterity. As can be readily appreciated by persons skilled in the art, the use of separate hand exercisers for developing specific muscle groups is not necessarily the solution for all situations. The vicissitudes of modern hand exercisers require an improved hand exerciser that can easily cross-train between all muscle groups. Moreover, in prior art hand exercisers, cross-training from one muscle group to another with the same hand exerciser was found to be difficult or impossible in most situations. Nor has any prior art hand exerciser addressed the need for a hand exerciser that can easily cross-training between all muscle groups while developing and strengthening finger and thumb dexterity.
With the overwhelming public use of a wide variety of electronic hand-held devices, computer mise and keyboards and video game controllers in the 21st century, it is possible to see how often these muscle groups are called upon and why a hand exerciser that can easily cross-trains between the muscle groups of the hand would be beneficial. What is needed, therefore, is an improved hand exerciser that allows the user to easily and effectively cross-train between all of the muscle groups of his or her hand to develop and strength finger and thumb muscles and improve finger and thumb dexterity.